For everyone who wondered how the guys behind this Vimeo Staff Pick pulled off this beautiful aerial shot, keep reading to find out!
No, you haven’t missed the announcement of the latest “superdrone”. In fact, the maneuvering around such tight spaces was done with a very cheap, very shaky 250-size mini quadcopter like this one, a GoPro Hero 4 and, of course, a very good pilot.
The secret, as they say, is in the sauce. In this case, the sauce is a new plugin for After Effects called ReelSteady. Here is the before shot:
ReelSteady features a very streamlined design, with some very useful tools. Apart from stabilizing your video, the plugin can correct the jello effect from your camera’s rolling shutter, as well as removing the fish-eye distortion from wide-angle lenses. This will not only make your footage look nicer, it’ll also help ReelSteady work better.
Another handy feature is the ability to refine a selected portion of the already stabilized footage through a second pass of correction. This allows for fast tweaking of any part of the clip that may not have come out looking smooth the first time around.
The software is still in its beta stage, but the watermarked demo is available for free. One important thing to keep in mind is that—due to a known bug in CC 2015—the software will currently only work with CS6, CC, and CC 2014. A little bit of a workaround may be necessary if you’re running the latest version of AE.
The website offers a few short tutorial videos on how to deal with common problems, such as artifacts and other known issues. They also demonstrate a couple of simple techniques to improve the performance of the plugin through masking and color correction. You can also see how it compares to the ubiquitous Warp Stabilizer.
V1 of ReelSteady is available for pre-order for $399, with instant access to the beta version.

Last week Emmanuel Pampuri posted a two minute, first look video of a new stabilization device and software called SteadXP. Immediately identified as a ‘game changer’ the footage and video was obviously promotional in nature, but nonetheless impressive.

Canon has announced two new instalments to add to their vast EF lens line up; the Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM and Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM. The latter more excitingly bringing us the widest full frame lens from Canon supporting Image Stabilization.
The 16-35mm f/4L IS USM broadens Canons flagship L series lens line, matching the focal length of the already popular 16-35mm f/2.8 II L; the new wide angle comes in a stop slower at f/4 and with the addition of a 4-stop effective IS system.
To say it’s a replacement of the 16-35mm f/2.8 II would not be true, both lenses will serve different purposes and Canon has been known to release similar lenses in the same range, offering small spec differences to aid different scenarios. For an example just look at the standard zoom range; Canon offer a 24-70mm f/2.8 II L, 24-70mm f/4 IS L and 24-105mm f/4 IS; all of which are still currently in production.
The 16-35mm f/4 IS shares the same appearance to other new Canon L lenses; it’s fairly evident that this will be the new look of the handhold-able L series zooms. The focus barrel is broad with tight rubber ribs for grip, having used the similar looking 24-70mm F/2.8 L II a fair bit I can vouch for the predicted feel of this lens; well built and weighted.
In terms of weight, it does come in slightly lighter than the 16-35mm f/2.8 II, which at first maybe a surprise due to the added Image Stabilization feature. However it is perhaps more understandable under close inspection as the 16-35mm f/4 IS has a smaller front diameter of 77mm (compared to 82mm of the 16-35mm f/2.8 II), resulting in less glass (no doubt to compensate for the smaller aperture).
The Image Stabilization features a new “intelligent CPU in the lens automatically selects the optimal IS mode by recognizing differences between normal handheld shots and panning”. This is a nice addition, previous IS lenses such as the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II L had a manual switch on the side to enable the desired type of Image Stabilization; this new feature removes a thought process for the user.
The 16-35mm f/4 IS has 16 elements in 12 groups, with a 9 rounded blade aperture. MFT charts can be found below, I expect this lens to perform very well optically.
I can see this lens being great for stabilizing devices; the wide angle view and Image Stabilization will be great assets to Glidecam and Movi systems.
The 16-35mm f/4 IS L is available for pre-order now, here are the specifications of the lens.
Focal Length 16 – 35mm
Aperture Maximum: f/4
Camera Mount Type Canon EF
Format Compatibility 35mm Film / Full-Frame Digital Sensor
Angle of View 108° 10′ – 63°
Minimum Focus Distance 11.02″ (28 cm)
Elements/Groups 16/12
Diaphragm Blades 9, Rounded
Filter Thread Front:77 mm
Dimensions (DxL) Approx. 3.25 x 4.44″ (82.6 x 112.8 mm)
Weight 1.35 lb (615 g)
Furthermore to Canons EF line up is the addition of the EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM. It sports a white collar (rather than red), meaning it resides in Canons entry level lens line. Being an EF-S lens it means that this is a cropped sensor lens only; it will not have full (if any) support on a full frame camera. This lens is reserved for all of Canons APS-C DSLR bodies, and the likes of the Canon C100, C300 and C500.
Like the new 16-35mm f/4, the Canon 10-18mm also features IS. And like many new Canon white collar lenses utilizes Canons STM system, enabling quiet and efficient auto focus for photo and video.
The Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM is also available for pre-order and naturally comes in at a much lower price range. Below are the lens specifications.
Focal Length 10 – 18mm
Comparable 35mm Focal Length: 16 – 28.8 mm
Aperture Maximum: f/4.5 – 5.6
Camera Mount Type Canon EF-S
Format Compatibility Canon (APS-C)
Angle of View 107° 30′ – 74° 20′
Minimum Focus Distance 8.66″ (22 cm)
Elements/Groups 14/11
Diaphragm Blades 7, Rounded
Filter Thread Front:67 mm
Dimensions (DxL) Approx. 2.94 x 2.83″ (74.6 x 72 mm)
Weight 8.47 oz (240 g)

Sigma has announced another lens to add to their Global Vision line. The Sigma 24-105 f/4 OS enters the standard zoom lens category sporting Optical Stabilization which will directly compete with Canon and Nikon counterparts.

There’s a new flagship camera body from Ricoh Imaging in town – The Pentax K-3. And with features like optional anti-aliasing and sensor shift image stabilizing, it’ll be raising a few eyebrows for video DSLR users.
It comes on the same day as Nikon release an update to their small full frame body, the D610. But with updates only affecting the stills function of the D610, the Pentax K-3 from a filmmaking perspective overshadows Nikon.
The K-3 has a 24.4 megapixel APS-C sensor. Weather sealed body. Inbuilt mono mic and external output for an additional mic. HDMI output. 1080 24,25,30p, 720 50,60p. MPEG-4 AVC/H.264（.MOV) – A spec list we’re used to seeing with the likes of Canon or Nikon. On paper this is on par with the 7D or D7100. But Pentax has brought some key features to the table that potentially set it apart from the rest.

For anyone keeping up to date with MFT news will be aware of this little beauty – the Panasonic Lumix GX7, a compact mirrorless 16-megapixel micro 4/3s camera, with similar video functions to the flagship GH3.
The GX7 is Panasonic’s latest release in their Lumix G line. The predecessor GX1 fell a little short in the video department, with capped bitrates for video, and no manual exposure control (out of the box). However the GX7 looks set to be a great contender for an ultra compact video camera, albeit one major sting in it’s tail (more on that later).

Hardware Image stabilization is undeniably convenient when shooting handheld. Canon’s new EF 24mm f2.8 IS USM and EF 28mm f2.8 IS USM offer that convenience in two full frame, wide angle prime lenses.
The lenses are available for pre-order and B&H expects them at June 17th.